Bruce shagged fly balls and took batting practice before Saturday's game -- the first time he's taken fly balls in the outfield.

He also did agility drills for the first time on Friday, and felt good about his progress with both.

'(I) felt good, a little awkward, just because I haven't done it and (I'm) still obviously recovering. I felt good, running around, no problems at all. I took it easy, I made some cuts and stuff like that, it felt good.'

Updates from Wednesday, May 14

John Fay of Cincinnati.com provides a statement from Jay Bruce discussing his recovery:

I'm not putting a time on when I'm ready to come back. But I'm progressing well. I haven't had any hiccups or problems in the rehab. Medical staff has done an unbelievable job. I've been their pawn. They tell me what to do and it's been working.

[...]

You want to get back as fast as you can. But you also want to come back when you're ready. You don't want to rush it because it could cause problems in the future. But, so far, I've had no hiccups. Nothing. It's been a really great process.

I'm as happy as I could be with it.

Fay also confirmed Bruce's latest drills in rehab:

Jay Bruce was supposed to miss three weeks to a month after having [arthroscopic knee] surgery on his left knee.

That timetable may be a bit conservative. Bruce began jogging on Tuesday and took batting practice on the field.

Updates from Tuesday, May 6

MLB Roster Moves has the latest on Jay Bruce after he had surgery on his injured knee:

Mark Sheldon of MLB.com had comments from Reds general manager Walt Jocketty on Bruce's injury:

"He said everything went well," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "It went as expected and the surgery was routine."

(...)

"I think it's something he's had for a while. It inflamed on him," Jocketty said. "I'm sure he did it playing but we don't know when."

(...)

"It's tough. We've just got to keep fighting," Jocketty said. "Somebody has to pick up the slack, that's all. All those guys will have a chance to get better by playing more."

Original Text

What's been a frustrating start to the 2014 MLB season for Jay Bruce was compounded on Sunday afternoon as the Cincinnati Reds outfielder was removed from the starting lineup due to left knee soreness.

Price said the origins of the injury are not yet known, but the team could conclude that the 27-year-old wasn't fit to play, per John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer:

Bruce ended up striking out as a pinch hitter and was then removed from the game. After the Reds' 4-3 win in 10 innings, Fay provided some potentially troubling info:

Later in the evening, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick confirmed Fay's report and added how long he may be out:

In 30 games this year, Bruce is hitting only .216, down from his career average of .255. His .363 slugging percentage is also nearly 100 points worse than his career low (.453) that he posted back in 2008.

Of course, it's still very early in the season, so making any sweeping generalizations about Bruce's performance would be unfair. However, fans can agree that this injury is the last thing he needed.

The Milwaukee Brewers are already running away with the National League Central. Heading into Sunday, the Reds were 6.5 games back. They can't afford to be losing any more players if they hope to make up that ground.

Mike Axisa of CBS Sports breaks down just how much Bruce will be missed:

Obviously losing Bruce would be a big blow to the Reds despite his slow start. He is their only lefty power bat aside from Joey Votto, and center fielder Billy Hamilton (knuckles) is banged up as well. Bruce was the sure thing in the team's outfield.

Given how many Reds players are already limited with injuries, Cincinnati will be hoping that Bruce's knee soreness is only a minor issue and won't keep him out of the lineup much longer.